“The new Nation-State law will do enormous damage to the legitimacy of the Zionist vision and to the values of the state of Israel as a democratic and Jewish nation”

New York, NY; July 18, 2018 - Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued the statement below about Israel’s controversial Nation-State law:

This is a sad and unnecessary day for Israeli democracy. The damage that will be done by this new Nation-State law to the legitimacy of the Zionist vision and to the values of the state of Israel as a democratic—and Jewish—nation is enormous.

We will continue to fight back by promoting the values of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and by forging new ties between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. We will deepen our engagement with Israel, using every means possible to promote a Judaism in Israel that is inclusive and pluralistic and reflective of our values of equality for all. The Israel Reform Movement and the North American Reform Movement passionately oppose this new law because of the harmful effect on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, as well as its negative impact on the balance between the various core founding values of the State of Israel.

The Nation-State law has led to a wave of calls to reconsider this ill-founded new law, along with statements of opposition by Jewish organizations and communities throughout the world. It is regrettable that the government of Israel has been unresponsive to the voices of protest from Israel and world Jewry that are rooted in love for Israel, Zionism and respect for the Jewish and democratic state envisioned by Israel’s founders.

The Israeli nation is deeply divided. But, there are millions of us who are united in our opposition to this new law and fortified in our determination to continue to fight for an Israel that will be true to its own founding declaration of equality for all within its land, with the freedom to worship and to live with true hope for the future.

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